Please note: Material provided in this report is chosen subjectively and included at the discretion of the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). The ability to report on a given event is limited by the amount of information available to NCDC at the time of publication. Inclusion of a particular event does not constitute a greater importance in comparison with an event that has not been incorporated into the discussion. Data included in this report are preliminary unless otherwise stated. Links to supporting information are valid at the time of publication, but they are not maintained or changed after publication.

Heat signatures from large forest fires were visible via NOAA
polar orbiting satellites during April 2002 over parts of
Honduras,
Nicaragua and Belize. Central America has been experiencing
drought conditions for the past 2 years, contributing to conditions
suitable for wildfires.

At least 16 million people were short of drinking water across
China as one of the worst droughts in decades affected the country
(BBC News). Across the southeast
coastal province of Guangdong, rainfall in April was over 100
mm (3.94 inches) below average, curtailing agriculture and
affecting already low reservoir storage. Drought conditions
extended south across Taiwan, where
water was shipped in from China due to the acute shortages of
drinking water.

Strong thunderstorms affected Bangladesh during the 22nd-30th, with
23 deaths and around 100,000 people affected (UN OCHA). Rain and
wind destroyed thousands of huts and damaged thousands of hectares
of crops.

In India, a tornado
devastated several villages in the state of West Bengal on
April 3rd. The tornado killed 5 people, destroyed over 400 houses
and rendered 5,000 people homeless (The Times of India).

Flooding rains hit the western Afghanistan province of Badghis on
the 23rd, destroying 500 houses, affecting 1,200 people and
resulting in at least 2 deaths (UN OCHA). Recent rains and a mild
winter across northern Afghanistan have caused the
proliferation of locusts which threaten emerging crops. The
United Nations World Food Program (WFP) estimated that about 9
million Afghans (about 40% of the population) with need about
275,000 tons of food aid until the harvest in July. In southern and
central Iran, 11 deaths were attributed to flooding that swept
across the region during the 14th-16th (COMTEX).

Thunderstorms and flooding affected desert areas of Saudi Arabia,
with 70 mm (2.76 inches) of rain falling at Hafr Al-Batin (located
in the northern part of the country) on the 7th. Over 60% of the
normal annual precipitation fell in just one day.

Persistent upper level ridges of high pressure (denoted
by positive 500 millibar height anomalies) promoted warmer than
average temperatures across eastern China northward to the
Kamchatka peninsula. Monthly mean temperatures were between 1 and
3°C (1.8-5.4°F) above average. An upper level trough of low
pressure (denoted by negative 500 millibar height anomalies),
corresponded to much cooler weather conditions from Turkey eastward
to Mongolia, where monthly temperature departures were -1 to
-4°C (-1.8 to -7.2°F) cooler than a 1968-1996 average
(NCEP
reanalysis).

Above average warmth across a large part of Europe was
associated with a strong upper
level ridge of high pressure centered over Scandinavia.
Temperatures were 1-3°C (1.8-5.4°F) above a 1992-2002
average over most of the region, with snow cover
rapidly retreating across Norway, Sweden and Finland by the end of
the month.

Precipitation was
below average over much of France, with monthly departures of -25
to -50 mm (-0.98 to -1.97 inches). In Paris, only 9.4 mm (0.37
inches) of rain fell, which is just 20% of normal for April.

Rainfall was above average across Ireland, with drier conditions
observed farther south across the remainder of the United Kingdom.
The UK Met Office
reported the sunniest April since 1990 across England and
Wales.

April was a warm month
across most of Australia, with temperatures running 1-3°C
(1.8-5.4°F) above a 1992-2002 mean.

Rainfall was below average across most of the country, with high
pressure systems centered south of the Great Australian Bight
dominating southern and eastern sections of Australia with
predominately fair weather. Rainfall deficiencies affected parts of
every state, with the most notable
precipitation deficits across parts of Queensland and South
Australia.

April 2002 rainfall in
Sydney was approximately half of normal for the month.

Tropical Cyclone Bonnie developed in
the Timor Sea on the 10th and brought locally heavy rains and gusty
winds to Timor and Sumba during the 10th-11th. Flash flooding
associated with the storm
killed 19 people on Sumba (COMTEX). The cyclone also caused a
moist northeast wind flow that brought near to above average
rainfall to northern Western Australia.

Across Indonesia, locally heavy showers and thunderstorms
triggered flooding and landslides across parts of the country.
Rains which fell on the 7th-8th caused flooding along the
Pesangrahan River affecting some areas of South Jakarta (Jakarta
Post). On Papua New Guinea, a
landslide which occurred in the Markham District in Marobe
Province claimed at least 8 lives and buried three villages after
heavy rains triggered the collapse of a cliff (BBC News).

With mainly light monthly rainfall (<100 mm or 3.94 inches)
across the southern African nations of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia
and Malawi, long-term dryness resulted in decreasing food and water
supplies. In Malawi,
famine caused by the food shortages affected 75 percent of the
country’s 11 million people (BBC News). A cholera epidemic
has killed more than 500 people since the outbreak began in
November (AFP). In neighboring Mozambique, more than 50,000 people
faced food shortages and another 250,000 have water shortages in
the central district of Chibabava due to drought (CIP report). The
government of Mozambique
estimated that 200,000 people had been seriously affected by
drought conditions. Little relief from the ongoing drought is
anticipated in the near-term as the dry season typically begins in
June across this region.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police
reported an increase in poaching as many people used the
illegal activity to supplement their food. The rise of poaching on
game reserves has threatened protected species such as the black
rhino.

Concentrated areas of
showers and thunderstorms associated with the axis of the
Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone occurred across equatorial
areas of central Africa as precipitation was 100-150 percent of
normal. Heavy rains during the 15th-19th caused flooding across
southern Nigeria, flooding parts of the coastal city of Lagos. In
Ghana, torrential rains caused floods along the Odaw River near
Accra around the 8th. Despite the flooding, the beginning of the
rainy season brought much needed
water to replenish area reservoirs.

Heavy rains across areas of Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya brought
drought relief but subsequent flooding. Excessive rainfall in the
eastern mountains of Ethiopia during the 16th-19th produced floods
that displaced at least 4,000 people (UN OCHA). In nearby, Somalia,
at least 6 people died and many others injured as
floods impacted the capital city of Mogadishu (UN IRIN). In
Kenya, more than 20,000 people were displaced from their homes as
floods affected the districts of Kisumu, Nyando and Rachuonyo (All
Africa Global Media).

Temperatures in April 2002 were 1-3°C (1.8-5.4°F) above
average across South Africa, Namibia and Botswana as well as Niger,
Chad and the Sudan. Notable areas of cooler weather were restricted
to Mali and Mauritania where monthly mean temperatures were
1-3°C (1.8-5.4°F) cooler than the 1992-2002 average.

The mean position of
the jet steam during the month of April was just south of the
U.S./Canadian border. This allowed for above normal temperatures
(1-3°C or 1.8-5.4°F above average) to cover the southern
two-thirds of the United States and the northern half of Mexico.
For more detailed information on temperatures across the United
States, see the national
analysis.

North of the jet
stream, an unusually cold, late season arctic air mass promoted
temperatures that were 3-5°C (5.4-9°F) below a 1968-1996
average throughout much of central and western Canada (Based on
NCEP Reanalysis data).

Across the United States, the first tornado related death of the
2002 severe weather season occurred on April 21 in
Wayne County Illinois. This was the furthest the nation has
gone into any year without a tornado related death since record
keeping began in 1950. Severe thunderstorms produced a tornado that
ripped through Charles, Calvert and Dorchester counties in
Maryland, reaching F4 intensity on the Fujita scale
near the town of La Plata on the evening of April 28th. The storm
injured more than 100 people, including numerous fatalities.

Drought
intensified across the western U.S. as the dry season drew
closer. The drought-affected region spanned the Canadian prairies,
southward through Montana, Wyoming and the Four Corners region, and
across a large expanse of northern and central Mexico. The National
Livestock Federation of Mexico reported that 40 percent of the 9
million cattle in much of central and northern Mexico suffer from a
lack of water and run the risk of dying (CIP report). See the
U.S.
drought pages for more information on national drought
conditions.

Drier than average
conditions persisted across Guatemala in April, where long-term
drought has developed since Hurricane Mitch devastated the region
in late October/early November 1998. Nearly 6,000 of
Guatemala’s 60,000 malnourished children are in danger of
starvation (UN WFP). The United Nations (WFP) estimated that 16% of
children under 5 suffered from serious malnutrition.

A belt of heavy
tropical rains stretched across the Amazon Basin in northern
Brazil, and included much of eastern Venezuela, Guyana and Surinam,
where monthly precipitation was 50-150 mm (1.97-5.91 inches) above
a 1979-1995 average.

Rainfall in the
Brazilian city of Vitoria, located in the northern part of the
country, was 36 mm (1.42 inches) above normal during April.

Across southern Brazil
and throughout much of Paraguay, April 2002 temperatures were
1-3°C (1.8-5.4°F) warmer than average. Elsewhere across
South America, monthly temperatures were within 1°C (1.8°F)
of a 1992-2002 mean.